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Back to the Wild

Wildlife Trusts are supporting young people to become natural leaders. And using Upshot to prove it.

Since 2016, Wildlife Trusts across the UK have come together to deliver Our Bright Future, a National Lottery Funded project for young people. The project aims to empower and inspire more than 60,000 young people in five years and develop:

new skills and experiences to increase their employability and wellbeing

The Growing Confidence project links up with local partners, FSC Preston Montford and Fordhall Farm, to engage young people across a wide range of interests and abilities. The Shropshire Wildlife Trust has clear targets to work with more than 1,000 young people towards outcomes such as moving into employment, gaining accreditations, and receiving specialist conservation training.

A quick Upshot search reveals that more than 50 participants have already been awarded John Muir Awards since the project start two years ago and hundreds of young people have taken part in activities across multiple sites. These include straw bale building, volunteer weekends, school talks and long-term placements.

Hannah Farley, Project Officer for Growing Confidence, says,

“We have found Upshot very useful when collating our data for quarterly and annual monitoring reports. With data coming from several partners it was difficult prior to us having the system to record participant journeys through the project as some participants were doing things with all three partners. The whole team finds the system very useful and easy to use in terms of input and setting up statistic reports.”

In Yorkshire, 96 young adults are trained to become Environmental Youth Leaders through fully immersive year-long vocational training placements. These leaders are then empowered to engage further young people aged 11+ and other members of the local community in environmental activities, projects and campaigns.

The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has been using Upshot to track the personal development of the Youth Leaders. They are logging activities ranging from bush-craft training and habitat management to advocacy opportunities and youth parliaments. Attendance registers allow the Trust to track contact hours, while the built-in survey tool can compare softer outcomes such as well-being and confidence levels before and after participation in the programme.

Paul Thompson, Project Lead at the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, says,

“We have found the software very user friendly and the support staff extremely helpful and efficient, offering tailored advice and technical support at short notice. We would highly recommend Upshot to others in the charity sector looking for a simple way to manage their data and evidence their achievements.”

Want to find out more about how these Wildlife Trusts are using Upshot to monitor their projects? Are you interested to see how we might be able to support your organisation?